RIXS study of Kondo quasiparticle dynamics

The interplay of localized and itinerant electrons in so-called Kondo systems is full of surprises and poses great challenges to our understanding of condensed matter. Particularly the question of how local high-energy degrees of freedom become incorporated into a collective electronic state is presently of great interest. In this study resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) on CePd₃ has been used to clarify exactly this point. It turned out that even spin-orbit excited states acquire pronounced momentum-dependence at low temperature, which is a fingerprint of the hybridization with the underlying metallic state. The present RIXS study demonstrates how localized electronic degrees of freedom endow correlated metals with new properties, which is critical for a microscopic understanding of superconducting, electronic nematic, and topological states.

Original publication:
M. C. Rahn, K. Kummer, A. Hariki, K.-H. Ahn, J. Kuneš, A. Amorese, J. D. Denlinger, D.-H. Lu, M. Hashimoto, E. Rienks, M. Valvidares, F. Haslbeck, D. D. Byler, K. J. McClellan, E. D. Bauer, J. X. Zhu, C. H. Booth, A. D. Christianson, J. M. Lawrence, F. Ronning & M. Janoschek 
Nature Commun. 13, 6129 (2022)